Comments on: diaTribe Review: “Scottsboro Boys” at the Guthrie is Tortured Brilliance

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:04:33 +0000

Agreed–the show was absolutely phenomenal. I knew very little about the show going in, but have done further research into it since.

As others have said, there aren’t songs that necessarily stayed with me after I left the theater and it definitely has some very uncomfortable moments, but I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that it left me wanting to learn more and to think about the moral dilemmas presented in the show (which Amy’s comment covers very well). The question of telling the truth vs. being freed to live a life for one’s self is incredibly challenging in this situation, and I’m still not sure where I stand on the topic.

The performances were phenomenal–great singing, dancing and acting. The “minstrel” format of the show was unique extremely well-used in this situation. I will certainly try to go see it again, and I hope that others in the Twin Cities will take the opportunity to go see this show before it hits Broadway.

By: Kirk

Kirk — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:27:39 +0000

The show was brilliant. I’d been looking forward to seeing it for a long time and it was everything I had hoped for. I’ll agree, I left without any specific songs that kept running through my head, but genuinely happy the show was made.

This is a production that is extremely candid and extremely uncomfortable at different points. However, similar to other Kander and Ebb shows, by using the framework of a Minstrel show, they are able to say things and portray attitudes that would be hard to do justice to in a “typical” theatre setting.

I know many people who have seen this and are seeing it again. I have no question that I’ll make it there once or twice more in the coming weeks…

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:45:11 +0000

Among the best theater I have ever seen. I saw the production tonight and came home to make a donation to the Innocence Project (not mentioned once in the play, but I can’t imagine how a person could leave the theater and not do something). The story is breathtakingly told, the performances are stunning, and I’m working on how I’m going to see it again – maybe on Broadway. I can’t possibly be the only tcjewfolk person who has seen it. What did others think? I was conflicted about the New York attorney, Sam Leibowitz. He made (in real life, as in the show) choices I find offensive, but on the other hand, he stuck with it a lot longer that I probably would have – if I’m being honest with myself. If bad things happen if you lie – then is dying in prison after 21 years good? Or is it just that when nothing good is going to happen whether you lie or tell the truth, you might as well be truthful? And who is in jail right now, or detention, or waiting to be deported, or . . .

These are the things that will keep me up tonight.